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~The Splits

Chapter Two

Family Breakdown

He had brown hair. It was a dull brown, and gray seemed to be waging war on it, slowly taking over. He was also balding, Alice noticed, balding and gray, how horrid. She sighed, wondering if the airport security could take longer. They could add more of it, she was sure, but to make it longer… the perfect form of torture. Too bad America had dibs on that 'no cruel and unusual punishment' thing.

The feeling of a hand grabbing hers brought Alice back to the present situation- stuck in a long line that would eventually lead to the plane that would take them to Japan, a place she had cursed many a time.

Riku was pulling her along again as the line moved. Honestly, it's not like she would get lost while standing in a line…well, maybe…if she really wasn't paying attention. But she was paying attention. Maybe not to him, but the guy in front of her had an interesting situation going on on the back of his head; after all, it wasn't often she saw hair in the middle of a war so if he stepped forward, she would follow. She idly wondered if she could set up a situation to see if Riku's hair would look as interesting.

Feeling Alice's eyes on the back of his head, Riku turned slightly to give her a weird look before shrugging and playing it off as Alice being Alice. At the sound of his mother's voice, Riku realized it was his turn to pass through the metal detector. He gave the thing a mean look, wondering if it would beep for him like it usually did. Honestly he suspected Alice of slipping something in his pockets or his shoe or something, but he could never catch her and inevitably, the stupid beeping would go off anyway.

Riku slowly stepped through after slipping his shoes off and putting them with his carry-on-bag. He heaved a sigh of relief as the metal detector remained silent and gathered his stuff, valiantly ignoring the amused look Alice sent him. Why that girl could pay attention when it came to messing with him, but no other time, he didn't know.

Once all three of them were through and had their things Riku and Alice followed their mother as she led the way through the airport to their terminal. On the way Alice began to walk in the wrong direction, following the man that had been in front of them in line, so Riku had to chase her down and drag her back. This -this was the Alice everyone knew, never paying attention and always wondering off. People simply didn't know what it was like to be apart of her experiments on human nature, or whatever she called it. Why she had to know how people reacted to something she did, he didn't want to know, but it certainly made his twin hard to live with.

"You kids have your passports still, right?" Riku only just barley refrained from rolling his eyes at his mom, they had made this trip every summer twice, once to Japan and once back, since they were five. He was almost insulted that she still had to ask the same questions that she did every time.

"Yup!" And of course Alice gave the same response that she always did, answering for both of them. Riku slumped slightly, watching the back of his mother's heals. This felt so… routine, like nothing had changed since the last summer they left to Japan, like nothing would be different. But Riku knew that despite this surreal normality, everything had changed.

*%%*

"Try to cheer up," Mrs. Ikuma said to her children as they collapsed into their seats. Riku had claimed the one by the window so he could look at something other than his family. He was so tired of his mom trying to cheer them up, even though he knew that wasn't really being fair to her, he couldn't help it. He didn't want to be cheered up.

"How am I supposed to cheer up when I'm being forced into something I don't want to do?" Riku mumbled. Catching her son's words with her sensitive ears, Mrs. Ikuma frowned. She didn't appreciate the tone in his voice.

"Antonio." She warned. Riku reluctantly turned away from the window, catching site of his sister staring up at the overhead TV, already away in her own little world, before turning completely toward his mom, who had chosen the aisle seat.

"I know you aren't happy with your dad's and my decision to move to Japan-" she gracefully ignored his indignant huff and continued on. "-but you're going to have to get used to the idea. You too Alice." Alice started at her name, turning away from the prerecorded flight attendant giving safety instructions, and toward her mom.

"Me too what?" She asked, perplexed. Mrs. Ikuma spared her only daughter a stern glance.

"You and Riku need to get over this childish notion that you can change what is happening to this family by acting out. Its not going to work and you're just making things harder for, not only yourselves, but your father too." She stared at her kids, trying to get them to understand what she was saying. "Your father just lost his big brother, and your Sofu has asked him to come back to Japan to be closer to family. How do you think that your attitudes lately have affected him? Do you think he feels good about picking up and moving his family?"

Alice stared up at her mother in awe. That was the singularly best and most affective guilt trip she had ever heard. Riku; however, didn't seem to feel it the way she did.

"Dad isn't the only one who lost Oji-san, we lost him too you know!" Riku fired back. He didn't care if he was going to get it anymore. He was sick of just holding his feelings in and doing what his parents said. "You're saying to think about Dad's feelings, but we have feelings too."

"Umm, I'm not sure I want to be a part of this," Alice interjected. Glaring at her Riku continued without hesitation. Alice might make him pay later, but that was later and this was now.

"We're leaving behind our school, our friends, the house we grew up in, Nonno, Nonna, your family, and Uncle! The only thing we're taking with us is each other-"

"And that's hardly a comfort." Alice murmured.

"-and our tennis, but tennis will never be the same without Uncle around to teach us. You say we should try to understand Dad's feelings, but you should try and understand ours too. We might only be kids, but we have things that are important to us just like you, but I suppose you wouldn't remember that because it's been ages since you were young."

Alice gaped. That… was unexpected. And suicidal. Briefly a picture entered her mind of the bedroom that they usually fought over staying in at Oji's house. Logically she knew that only one person could have that room while they lived in that house, and Riku had just guaranteed that she would be the winner, because Mrs. Ikuma certainly wasn't one to let someone live for insulting her age. She wondered what it would be like to go to her twin's funeral… but she shook that thought off and turned her attention back to the drama unfolding. This was better than reality television.

Observing her mother, Alice thought that she had never looked more cold. Her back had straightened to the point that it hurt her own just looking, and a black aura seemed to surround her. She didn't glare, though, and nothing in her facial features seemed to suggest that she was actually angry. Alice idly compared it to watching a character go down the dark stairs in the beginning of a horror movie; nothing really suggests that it would be a bad idea, but everyone knew that that character would be the first one to be killed off.

"Antonio Riku Ikuma." Three words, Alice mused, that spelled her brother's death. "How dare you speak to me that way? How dare you?"

Riku gulped, sliding down his seat and looking away from his mother's piercing eyes, muttering a small, but heartfelt, apology. If the plane hadn't already taken off he would have seriously considered jumping out the window to save his life. All his anger seemed to have faded away at the appearance of his mother's cold fury. This is the perfect example showing that Alice was so much better at planning ahead than him. How many times had he done or said something only to realize later that he shouldn't have? Too many to count. To make matters worse, this time he'd foolishly wandered into the ultimate forbidden territory by insulting his mother's age. The only thing she was more insecure about than her looks was her age, and he'd dared to call her old. What had he been thinking? More like: why hadn't he bothered to think in the first place?

"So who is going to teach us tennis?" Glancing at his sister in relief, Riku knew he would owe her one later for saving him from his impending doom. Alice smirked at her brother, before turning her full attention to her mother. He had gotten the message and it was dangerous to turn her attention from her mother while she was still defusing.

"You know, since Uncle isn't coming with us and all?" Alice continued, making sure she sounded innocent and slightly dazed. Couldn't let her mother know she was saving her brother on purpose. Mrs. Ikuma slowly relaxed back into her seat, releasing a frustrated sigh and answering her daughter.

"Your father has it taken care of."

Alice ignored Riku's irritated sigh at their mother's vague answer, glad that he wasn't actually saying anything anymore; even she could only do so much.

"Do we know this instructor at all?" Alice observed the small, almost imperceptible smirk that curved her mother's lips, wondering.

"Oh, you've met them once or twice." And everything clicked. Alice rolled her eyes and turned to stare at the ugly blue upholstery on the chair in front of her. Why couldn't people make puzzles at least somewhat hard to figure out? She wanted a challenge, and here's for hoping that she would find one in Japan.

*%%*

"It's odd… that Oji-san isn't here." Riku murmured. Alice nodded her agreement as she glanced around what she could see of the house. She and Riku exchanged looks before finally stepping inside. Their dad hadn't had time to really unpack before they arrived so taped up boxes were scattered all over the place.

The two navigated through the living room past the teetering stacks of boxes, making their way toward the staircase, both teens intent on finding the rooms they would claim for themselves, when a voice from what they knew to be the kitchen startled them from their missions.

"You two aren't going to walk by without coming to say "hi" to your Uncle, are you?" Riku and Alice both shouted in excitement and sprinted for the kitchen. They easily avoided the boxes and jabbed their elbows into the other, trying and reach the voice first.

Riku finally pulled ahead of his sister and reached the kitchen door first and threw it open. He didn't waste a second before pouncing on the man that had stretched his arms open, ready for the tackle-hug.

"Uncle!" Uncle laughed a deep belly laugh and ruffled Riku's hair, winking at the beaming Alice.

"Hello to you too Antonio. Alice." Having met the twins in Italy, and being Italian himself, Uncle was one of the few that called Riku by his Italian name.

"Hello Uncle." Alice greeted, running into his arms as soon as Riku stepped away. Even though she had guessed that the tennis instructor their mother had been hinting at on the plane was Uncle, it was a different feeling just guessing it and seeing him in the flesh. She stepped back and observed the man, he had gotten his hair cut, and was wearing dirt stained pants. The man wasn't really their uncle, but Alice and Riku had known him for so long, and he had always been friends with their parents, that when they were younger they had simply dubbed him 'Uncle'.

"What are you doing here Uncle? How long have you been here?" Riku exclaimed, excited at seeing his uncle figure, but confused as he had thought he was still in Italy.

Uncle laughed again, releasing Alice as he did so. "Your parents snagged me after one of our lessons a couple months ago, explaining to me about the big move. They invited me along with the nice temptation of free board in the guest house here as long as I would continue to teach you two tennis." Uncle smirked at the two twins. "Surprise!"

Riku gaped for a moment, before spinning to glare at his parents who had just come through the door. "Why didn't you tell me? You know I hate surprises!"

"Mom didn't seem to be willing to impart with that information to you when we asked about him for reasons I simply cannot fathom," Riku winced at the sarcasm as he shot his mom a quick look, hoping she had forgotten about her being mad at him, "which meant that she also wouldn't tell me. So I, being the genius I am, figured it out from just two sentences." Alice smirked over at him, answering before her parents could, arms crossed over her chest.

"You knew?" Riku demanded.

Alice laughed, losing the smug demeanor. "I figured it out on the plane. Remember when I asked about Uncle? I thought it was quite obvious…" Alice laughed again at the glare Riku threw her, satisfied at one-upping her brother.

"Traitor." Riku murmured, turning his baleful gaze from his laughing sister to his smirking parents and Uncle. "All of you." This caused both his parents and uncle to join his sister in laughing. Riku glared at them for a moment before sighing, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation.

"You're all impossible." He exclaimed, but could no longer keep a wide grin from nearly splitting his face. This was the first time he had seen his family together and truly happy since the news of his oji-san's death had reached them. It was hard not to let their infectious moods cheer his.

Alice flounced over to her brother and threw her arm over his shoulder, still laughing. "You love us anyway." She practically shouted in his ear, her eyes sparkling. Riku shrugged her arm off, but didn't disagree with her. He just continued to beam at his chuckling parents and pseudo uncle, easily ignoring his sister after years of practice doing so.

Mr. Ikuma cleared his throat and smiled down at his two beaming children. "You two can go pick out your rooms now." He held up his hand, forestalling their stampede. "After come get some money from your mother or me, then you two can go explore for a bit. But I want you back before dark." Casting a serious look on his rapidly nodding children, Mr. Ikuma smiled again and let them go, making sure that he stepped well out of their way.

Alice and Riku practically sprinted from the kitchen and up the stairs, both heading for one room. It was the room that they both shared when they visited their oji-san, and the biggest bedroom aside from the master bedroom, which they both correctly assumed their parents would take. Normally the two twins would take turns having the room, but this time it was for keeps, and they both wanted it. The two reached the door at the same time and glared at each other.

"I call it!" They shouted at the same time, glares boring into identical tawny eyes. The staring contest continued for a few minutes before Riku smirked at his sister.

"Play you for it." He said tauntingly. Alice smirked back at her brother, a calculating gleam in her eyes.

"Deal."

*%%*

"Man." Riku sighed. "It looks like all the courts are full. We'll have to wait for one to open up before we can play." He and Alice had just finished wandering around the street courts that their dad had given them directions to. "Do you want to pick a match to watch while we wait Alice?" Riku asked over his shoulder, only to find Alice wasn't there. "Alice?" Riku said turning around in a full circle. "Oh, this is just great." Riku muttered to himself. "We haven't even been gone half an hour and I've already lost her. Well, she can't be too far away." Taking a couple minutes to retrace his steps Riku saw a familiar redhead standing to the side of one of the matches. Walking up behind her, Riku could hear her whispering to herself.

"That shot was just terrible. He should have hit it over to the side and then…"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity ya know." Riku said using Alice's shoulder as an arm rest. Shrugging off her brother Alice didn't even bother to glance at him.

"You do it too. Anyways, did you see that shot just now Riku?"

"No, because I was too busy finding my sister who wandered off without telling me." Riku replied dryly, looking up from his sister to the match that was being played. The two boys that were playing weren't too bad. As one of the boys hit a cross court shot Riku narrowed his eyes. "That idiot. The side was wide open; he should have hit that down the line."

"A slice drop shot wouldn't have been bad either with his opponent pinned at the baseline like that." Alice added.

"True." Riku said with a nod of his head, watching as the boy on the left hit the ball into the net. "Any idea what the game count is?" He asked as the boy on the right called out the point score of 40-15 before serving.

"No idea, and that serve needed way better placement than that to be effective." The two continued commenting on the match for another game before Riku looked past the match to find another court had opened up.

"Hey Alice, that court over there is free. Let's go. If we don't start soon Dad may call before we finish." Pulling her eyes from the match Alice nodded. Picking up her tennis bag, which she had placed on the ground, she followed after Riku. When they reached the open court they both took a seat on the courtside bench. Setting his bag on the ground Riku bent over to retie his shoes. When he was done he pulled out his silver racket with black grip tape and stood up. Alice was already waiting for him by the net with her dark purple racket that had white grip tape.

"Rough or smooth?" Alice asked placing the head of her racket against the ground.

"Rough." Riku called as Alice spun her racket. It spun rapidly several times before slowing down and tipping to one side. The racket fell against the court with a small clatter.

"It's rough." Alice said picking her racket back up. "What do you want to do?"

"I'll serve." Riku replied tapping his pocket which held three tennis balls. "Which side do you want?"

"I'll take the left." Alice replied after looking at the sky for a moment. Without another word the two glared at each other for a moment, knowing what was on the line with this match, before walking to their positions. Standing just behind the baseline Riku bounced the ball a few times before catching it. Taking a moment he double checked his grip and the position of his feet. Satisfied, Riku looked up and noted Alice's position, standing midway between the alley and centerline just behind the baseline. Picking a spot to serve to, Riku called the score.

"Game count: love all." Bouncing the ball once more, Riku caught it and tossed it up into the air, slightly in front of him while at the same time bringing his racket up and back. Watching as the ball lost to gravity and began its fall back down, Riku brought his arm up and stepped through as he made contact, making sure to bring his racket all the way through, which naturally brought him into a ready position.

The ball sped over the net, hitting close to the alley line about halfway down the service box. Running up, Alice connected with the ball, sending back a decent forehand several feet to Riku's left. Chasing it down, Riku used a two-handed backhand to send the ball back in a deep, cross court shot with plenty of topspin. As he followed through, Riku began running for the net. Alice managed to catch the ball towards the edge of her racket, and get it back over only for Riku to put it away with a swift forehand volley. "Don't think I'll let you get away with that again." Alice said, throwing a look over her shoulder at Riku before making her way back to fall into a receiving position on the other half of the baseline.

"Yeah, yeah." Riku smirked. This is what he needed, a good tennis match to make him forget, even just temporarily, that he was in Japan. "Fifteen-love." Riku called as he tossed the ball up and served. The ball hit next to the centerline-on the wrong side. Alice held up her pointer finger, an indication that the shot was out. Nodding, Riku pulled out a second ball from his pocket. "Second serve." he called after bouncing it a couple times. Tossing the ball up, Riku adjusted slightly for his second serve. Hitting the ball, Riku sent it safely into Alice's court, close to the center of the service box. Taking the serve, Alice hit a sharp forehand down the line. Running, Riku hit the ball with the edge of his frame. The ball flew up into the air and came down just on his side of the net. "So close." Walking up to the net, Riku retrieved the ball by trapping it between his foot and racket before lifting it up into the air.

"Ball." Alice called as she lightly hit over the ball from Riku's first serve.

"Got it." Riku said as he caught the ball and pocketed it before returning to the baseline to serve again.

"Fifteen-all." The next couple of points consisted of longer rallies, but Riku ended up taking the first game from a position of 40-30. Since they'd played an odd number of games, the two traded court sides. As they passed the bench, Alice took a quick drink from her water bottle before accepting the balls from Riku and putting two of the three in her skort. "This next game is mine." she said as she walked off, bouncing the last ball up and down on her racket. Not bothering to rush, she set up behind the baseline and prepared to serve.

"Game count: love-one." she called. Noting Riku's position, she tossed the ball up into the air. Coming down on it, Alice sent it towards the outside corner. Returning the ball with a deep forehand back to her, Riku took up a position at the middle of the baseline. For the next couple shots, Alice continued to hit them deep from side-to-side, making Riku run. Then, when Riku had started standing just a little bit farther behind the baseline than normal, Alice hit a short approach shot that barely cleared the net before beginning to drop. Sprinting up from the baseline, Riku was just a second too late as the ball took its second bounce just out of his reach. Gritting his teeth, Riku hit the ball over to Alice.

"Hate to say it, but mean shot."

"Don't you mean nice? It was a nice shot." Alice said teasingly as she stopped the ball with her racket.

"Nah, I'll admit it was good a shot, but it was definitely not a nice one-for me at least." Riku replied, a faint smirk toying at his lips as he fell into a ready position behind the baseline. Eyes glinting playfully, Alice sent her next serve zipping down the center, just nicking the line as it went. Grimacing as he returned it with a soft backhand straight to her, Riku tried to reset for Alice's next shot -which was a sharply angled forehand to his right. The ball popped weakly off his racket, and was put away with a well placed overhead from Alice that landed miles from where Riku was.

"Playing like that already?" Riku asked calmly as he rested his racket on his shoulder. "A bit early for that, don't you think?" He joked as he set up to receive the next serve.

"Are you questioning my judgment? I should have you beheaded." Alice replied in fake indignation as she flicked her hair back with her hand. "In fact, this game will be the beginning of your execution." She said as she served quickly, using a lower toss, effectively catching Riku off guard. He barley managed to connect with the ball, and it never came close to making it back over the net as it flew almost straight up into the air. After the ball bounced, Riku threw Alice a challenging look as a dangerous smirk crept onto his face. It was on. Fighting back, Riku won the next two points in a row making it 30-30 before Alice used her precision to steal the next two points and take the game.

Hitting the balls over to Riku, Alice fixed the gut on her racket as she fell into a ready position. Watching Riku prepare to serve, Alice gripped her racket securely. Riku's form when he served and just when he played in general was very unorthodox so that even Alice, who'd played him countless times, couldn't tell for sure what was coming next. Watching closely for any hint as to where the ball may go as Riku tossed it up, Alice's eyes widened as the ball left his racket with a heavy slice spin causing it change direction drastically.

Just after it passed the net, the ball turned right instead of continuing straight on, and hit close to the outside line, bouncing straight out to the side. Scrambling, Alice reached the ball and returned it with a surprisingly steady crosscourt forehand, but Riku was there and waiting. She could only watch as he drew his racket back and hit a forehand down the line. While his accuracy wasn't as good as hers, it wasn't bad by any means and after luring her so far out on the right side there was no way she could make it to the other side to reach the ball, not with her speed. Throwing her brother a look, Alice returned to the baseline. This, like always when Riku introduced his spin, had not only gotten harder, but more interesting. Perfect.

Both of them held their serves until the sixth game where Riku broke Alice's, making the game score 4-2 in his favor. Not about to be outdone though, Alice broke Riku's service game in the seventh game to make the score 4-3 for Riku. By now, they were both sweating and were feeling tired, partially thanks to jet lag and the six hour time difference between Italy and Japan. During the change over the twins sat down on the bench and pulled out their water bottles. Uncle always stressed staying properly hydrated before, during, and after matches. Neither twin said anything until a ringing sound started to come from Riku's black tennis bag.

Alice looked at Riku in question. "Must be Dad." Riku said looking up at the sky filled with the colors of the sun setting. He hadn't realized it had gotten so late while they were playing. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his phone and checked the caller ID. "Yeah, it's him." Flipping open his phone, Riku answered it. "Hey Dad. What's up?"

"Where are you two? It's almost dark out."

"We're at the tennis courts."

"Well, I'm sorry if you are in the middle of a match or whatever, but you need to come home now." Riku glanced over at Alice. She wouldn't be happy stopping when he was ahead, especially when the flow of the match had returned to her because she broke his service and took the last game.

"Hey Dad, I'm going to put you on speaker phone so you can tell Alice yourself."

"Ah," Mr. Ikuma said understandingly. "You're winning, aren't you? I can't blame you for not wanting to tell her yourself, especially since you're playing for your bedrooms right now." Mr. Ikuma had long ago gotten used to his children using competitions to decide just about everything. It was rather amusing for him as he often had to play judge to make sure the competitions were fair. "Go right ahead and throw me on speaker." Pulling his phone away from his ear, Riku hit the speaker phone button. "Am I on speaker now?" Mr. Ikuma asked.

"Yeah Dad, you're good." Riku replied, holding the phone between him and Alice so they could both hear.

"Alright. Are you there Suzume?"

Alice glared at the phone, knowing where this was heading. "I'm here." –she made sure her voice sounded short and clipped. She definitely knew where this was going, and she knew how to use it to her advantage.

"Good. Now, I just told your brother this, and I know you won't be happy, but you two need to come home now. And I don't mean finish what you're doing and then come home. I mean right now, no arguments. Do you understand?"

"Yes Dad." Alice turned her glare to her brother.

"That's my girl. Now, I'll expect you two to be home in ten to fifteen minutes. I'll see you when you get back."

"Got it." The twins answered in sync, Alice sounding a little more snappish than her brother, before Riku flipped his phone shut. Slipping his phone into his pocket, Riku began putting his racket and the balls away. Standing up, Riku grabbed his tennis bag and put it over his shoulder before picking up his water bottle. Riku began walking toward the gates to get back out to the sidewalk when he heard his sister clear her throat from behind him.

"You are such a coward." Alice glared at her brother's back, almost enjoying the way his muscles tensed up. "Did you really think I would get that upset? Angry even, over an unfinished tennis match? So little trust, Brother?" Alice slowly stood up, slipping her bag over her shoulder and she made sure her shoulder pushed her brother's as she stalked passed him. "Making Dad tell me to come home, really?" She walked out of the tennis courts and headed toward the house, ignoring her brother's following steps, and suppressing a smile as she walked on, plans running through her head.

"Left, not right." Alice immediately changed direction, sneering at her brother as she brushed passed him again.

"Don't talk to me." She made sure her voice was snappish and tense. She had to make sure that her brother stayed behind her on the way back to the house because according to the rules that they had made up when they were younger, since neither had technically won the match, whatever they were playing for became up for grabs and whoever reached it first got it. And this time they were playing for the better bedroom, something she really wanted.

Riku; however, wanted the room just as badly as she did and, unfortunately, was the faster of the two of them. So she had to resort to more… underhand ways of winning. So if she had to pretend to be mad at her brother to keep him behind her and preoccupied with her apparent anger, so be it. As long as she had a better chance at reaching the room first.

Riku exhaled a breath of relief as soon as the house came into view. The walk home from the tennis courts had been filled with a silence riddled with tension. His sister really needed to stop taking things so seriously. He stared at his sister's back –she still refused to walk beside him, and wondered if the new surroundings had been what set her off. Maybe the humid Japanese air had made her more snappish?

Riku stopped walking to watch his sister practically jog up to the house, now that he thought about it, his spacey twin had been pretty concentrated the whole walk home. Normally by now she was over whatever had made her angry. In fact, by now, she would have normally forgotten that something had made her angry in the first place. He stared in growing horror as his sister slid the door open to the house and practically sprinted around the corner and out of his sight toward the stairs. He managed a quick glance toward the window that belonged to the bedroom they were supposed to be playing for, before he sprinted after his sister; practically hopeless about getting the room but sure that he had to give it one more try. Alice might have a head start, but he was the faster twin.

Riku pushed as fast as he could, flying passed the front door and skidding around the corner. He flung his tennis bag toward the couch and, not checking to see if it landed, raced up the stairs three at a time. He made it down the hall just as Alice was shutting the bedroom door. She poked her head out and smiled at him, a triumphant gleam in her eye and a smug smile twisting her lips.

"Sorry about the trust thing Riku, but I really wanted this room." Riku stared, panting, as she then shut the door.

*%%*

Mr. Ikuma, Mrs. Ikuma, and Uncle all stopped what they were saying as the front door slid open with a bang and a flash of red hair flew through the living room and up the stairs. They watched from the kitchen table, stunned, as seconds later a second flash of red hair raced by, proceeded by a thump and a crash. The adults shared a look before Mrs. Ikuma finally stood and walked hesitatingly into the living room.

She looked around for a moment before finding the source of the crashing noise. There, by the couch, was her son's tennis bag. He had apparently thrown it while he was running. It seemed that it had landed on the couch before bouncing off and hitting the box that had been sitting in front of it.

The bag had hit the box with enough force to tip the opened box. Inside the box, before it had tipped, had been a china dining set that her parents had given her when she had first married. Now that dining set lay in expensive pieces around her living room carpet. Mrs. Ikuma took a deep breath before letting it out, frustration racing through her blood.

"Antonio Riku Ikuma. Alice Suzume Ikuma. Get down here. Now." She didn't yell, but her voice carried throughout the entire house anyway.

Mr. Ikuma and Uncle exchanged looks before deciding that Mrs. Ikuma had things covered and that they weren't needed. They stood simultaneously and made their way to the back door, both set on looking through the gardens for things they would need to fix it up. Never mind the fact that they had already done so when they had first arrived.

Japanese to English dictionary:

Sofu: Grandfather

Sobo: Grandmother

Oji: Uncle

Italian to English dictionary:

Nonno: Grandpa

Nonna: Grandma

Tennis glossary:

Alley: The narrow lane on either side of the court. In singles the alleys are out, but in doubles they are in.

Changing court rules: In tennis the players will switch which half of the court they are on every time an odd number of games have been played.

Ex: After the first game they will change sides, but after the second game they stay put. When the third game is done they would change sides again, back to the side they started on, and so forth until the match is over.

Hey all! This is chapter 2~ Thanks sooo much to Rainbowlalaland for being our first (and only) reviewer. We also want to say thanks to those who favorited and alerted to this story, we really appreciate it. Buuuut we aren't going to actually put your names down until you review :P.

Well, we finally added some tennis. Tell us what you think! We also really want to hear your opinion on Alice and Riku. Do you like/dislike them, and why~ Thanks a lot!

~The Splits